Tag Archives: taiwan

Found around Taiwan’s famous night markets, the ice cream wrap features peanut candy shavings and a spring-roll crepe cover. There is a savory version of this with pork, cabbage and ground peanuts that is a long-standing, traditional dish. However, it’s the tart ice cream and crunchy peanut candy that makes the sweet version such a hit, starting from its origins in Yilan to trendy settings in Taipei.

Photo courtesy of hungryintaipei.blogspot.com

The ice cream burrito, which can be found all over Taipei’s night markets, comes in various versions such as pineapple, taro and peanut ice cream.

And how exactly does one make this famous treat? First, the crepe is made and laid out. The peanut shavings are then placed on top of it and three scoops of ice cream are set onto that. Then there’s another layer of peanut candy shavings plus the optional coriander. The treat is then folded up like a burrito and put in a to-go bag for you to hold as you explore the rest of the night market.

Another popular option is to include cilantro, which is reminiscent of cilantro in other sweet treats such as mango salsa. All of these options do not disappoint! They serve as another example of the creative and delicious food adventures found in the nooks of Taiwan night markets.

Method:
To make the pineapple ice cream, put the fruit (drained, if using tinned) in a food processor or whizz with a stick blender to a smooth puree.

1. In a separate bowl, whisk the condensed milk and cream to stiff peaks, then fold through the fruit puree, mixing fully or leaving slightly marbled, if you like.
Pour into a lidded, plastic, freezer-proof container, then freeze until firm, around 4 hours.

2. To make the peanut ice cream, put all the ingredients in a bowl then whisk to stiff peaks. Pour into a lidded, plastic, freezer-proof container, then freeze until firm, around 4 hours.

3. Next, make the brittle. Grease a small baking tin, then put the peanuts in a large, dry frying pan, then, over a medium heat, toast until golden. Add a pinch of salt, then add the sugar, swirling, but not stirring, the pan, until the sugar has melted and turned to a dark golden color. Pour into the baking tin and allow to harden.

4. To assemble, lay a spring roll wrapper on a work surface, then grate or crumble over a generous amount of peanut brittle. Top with three scoops of ice cream – just peanut, just pineapple, or a mixture, if you like – then add more brittle and a scattering of coriander.
Working quickly, fold in the top and bottom of the wrapper, then roll up. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers, and eat immediately.

Step aside Ringo Starr and Travis Barker, we have a new favorite drummer in town. From the looks of things, she intends to keep her spot as a favorite.

Known to us by her English name, S. White, this Taiwanese jazz drummer and street performer has been turning heads and catching quite a bit of attention. In fact, her official Facebook fan page has nearly 200,000 likes. Now don’t let her youth and petite size fool you– White packs a punch in her performances.

She is often seeing laughing, singing along and bobbing her head while rocking out to everything from Crayon Pop to Lady Gaga. Many media sites have praised her on being such a “cute and pretty” drummer, but the reason she’s on our list of favorites is her undeniable talent and charm. Simply put, she has so much fun during her performances that we can’t help but smile along.

Ang Lee has done more than anyone to bring attention to the Taiwanese film industry, shooting much of his 3D fantasy film Life of Pi in Taipei and Taichung — and always making sure to thank Taiwan in those Oscar speeches, even if his film is about gay cowboys in Wyoming. But Taiwan’s local films have had a recent commercial resurgence as well, catapulted by 2008’s super hit Cape No. 7. More recently, successful films include You Are The Apple of My Eye, Monga, and Seediq Bale, in addition to Taiwan/China co-productions like the ensemble romantic comedy Love. At the same time, Taiwanese dramas are as rampant as ever — and all of this brings us a wealth of new Taiwanese leading ladies.

A comprehensive list that spans decades would definitely include Taiwanese talents such as Sylvia Chang, Brigitte Lin, Lu Yi-Ching, Mavis Fan, Barbie Hsu, Rene Liu, Vivian Hsu and more, but instead, we’re going to concentrate on young actresses ruling commercial Taiwanese film and television today.

Michelle Chen
As the honor student who all five male friends have a crush on in 2011’s hit film You Are The Apple of My Eye, Michelle Chen is the girl next door with that extra sparkle in her smile, should she respect you enough to shine it your way. The film was a commercial hit in Taiwan and the all-time highest grossing Taiwanese film in the Hong Kong box office, and it propelled Chen into stardom, earning her Best Actress nominations for Taipei’s Golden Horse Awards and Asian Film Awards.

The half-Taiwanese, half-French actress first started getting noticed in the international festival scene as the muse of director Cheng Yu-Chieh, who cast her in his 2006 film Do Over. In 2009, he wrote Yang Yang — about a Eurasian girl dealing with her identity as a newbie in the entertainment industry — with Pinna in mind. The well-regarded actress has a magnetic quality onscreen, simultaneously child-like and soulful, and she was most recently nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards for her work in Touch of the Light, where she plays an aspiring dancer who befriends a blind pianist.

Often compared to Angelina Jolie for her sultry lips and smoldering effect onscreen, Shu Qi is most admired for her roles in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Millenium Mambo and Three Times, for which she won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress in 2005. She also had a short stint in Hollywood acting, opposite Jason Statham in the original French action film The Transporter (co-directed by Hong Kong action director and choreographer Corey Yuen). In the last five years, she’s earned box office appeal in China with her romantic comedy If You Are The One 1 and 2, but most recently, she was part of the ensemble cast for the 2012 film Love, the Taiwanese version ofLove Actually.

Alice Ke has a habit of popping up on many successful Taiwanese movies and dramas — from the tarnished hooker with the heart of gold in Monga, to the goal-oriented yet sometimes hapless department store worker in Office Girls, to the smokey-eyed unstable girl who thinks a teddy bear is her boyfriend in Bear It. And somehow Ke makes each wildly different character both likable and multidimensional. Her most recent drama was 2012’s Gung Hay Fat Choy (Wo Men Fa Cai Le).

Ariel Lin first shot to fame in 2005 with It Started With a Kiss. Based on a manga series, Lin plays Xiangqin, the struggling, yet optimistic student who first annoys her crush, the emotionally-challenged genius Zhi Shu, with her haplessness and borderline stalking, but later wins him over out of sheer will power. Seven years later, Lin has grown up and is less “adorable” but more self-reliant in In Time With You, playing the sophisticated but stubborn manager who can’t admit she loves her best friend. The role earned Lin her second Golden Bell Award for Best Leading Actress in a Television Series.

Amber Kuo is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer who gained attention as an actress in 2010, with roles in Arvin Chen’s Au Revoir Taipei (where she took home Best New Actress at the Taipei Film Festival) and the TV drama The Year of Happiness and Love (for which she was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Television Series at the Golden Bell awards). In Doze Niu’s ensemble romantic comedy Love, she gives a memorable performance as a girl betrayed by an indiscretion between her boyfriend and her best friend.

2009 was a big year for Ivy Chen, as she played a daughter of the Triad boss in the Golden Bell Award-winning cop series Black & White and gave a memorable turn as the protagonist in Hear Me, a film predominantly told in sign language, for which she won the Best Actress award at the Taipei Film Festival. In 2012, she was in the romantic comedy Love — co-starring actresses Amber Kuo and Shu Qi –playing a young girl who makes a detrimental mistake that might cost her her relationship with her best friend.

Sonia Sui’s claim to fame is The Fierce Wife, which was labeled “the most talked about show in Taiwan” in 2011 and was so popular that it was re-aired in Japan later that year and was adapted into a feature film The Fierce Wife: The Final Episode in 2012. Sui plays a young mother whose husband cheats on her with her cousin. Much of the comedy — and tragedy — comes from the ensuing divorce and her attempt to move on, and Sui’s performance has been praised for her balance of strength and fragility.

The quintessential Taiwanese idol drama actress, Rainie Yang has been acting and singing since her debut role in 2001’s Meteor Garden. Though prolific, she’s had to work to be taken seriously as an actress, earning respect with her role in 2007’s Spider Lilies, a Zero Chou-directed lesbian drama that won the Teddy Award for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival. She’s often paired with Mike He, and she recently starred opposite Joseph Chang in Drunken to Love You.

Although she got her start in the 2002 film Blue Gate Crossing, Gwen Lun-Mei may be most known for her role opposite Jay Chou in his directorial debut Secret. Gwei earned critical recognition this past year with her performance in Yang Ya-che’s Girlfriend Boyfriend, alongside Joseph Chang and Rhydian Vaughan, and she was the most recent recipient of the Best Actress trophy at the Golden Horse Awards.

Audrey Magazine is an award-winning national publication that covers the Asian experience from the perspective of Asian American women. Audrey covers the latest talent and trends in entertainment, fashion, beauty and lifestyle.